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Hallucinogens, alcohol and shifting leadership strategies in the ancient Peruvian Andes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2022

Matthew E. Biwer Open the ORCID record for Matthew E. Biwer [Opens in a new window] ,
Willy Yépez Álvarez ,
Stefanie L. Bautista  and
Justin Jennings
Matthew E. Biwer*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Dickinson College, Carlisle, USA
Willy Yépez Álvarez
Affiliation:
Royal Ontario Museum, Department of Art and Culture, Toronto, Canada
Stefanie L. Bautista
Affiliation:
Department of Religion and Classics, University of Rochester, New York, USA
Justin Jennings
Affiliation:
Royal Ontario Museum, Department of Art and Culture, Toronto, Canada
*
*Author for correspondence ✉ biwerm@dickinson.edu
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Abstract

In the pre-Columbian Andes, the use of hallucinogens during the Formative period (900–300 BC) often supported exclusionary political strategies, whereas, during the Late Horizon (AD 1450–1532), Inca leaders emphasised corporate strategies via the mass consumption of alcohol. Using data from Quilcapampa, the authors argue that a shift occurred during the Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000), when beer made from Schinus molle was combined with the hallucinogen Anadenanthera colubrina. The resulting psychotropic experience reinforced the power of the Wari state, and represents an intermediate step between exclusionary and corporate political strategies. This Andean example adds to the global catalogue documenting the close relationship between hallucinogens and social power.

Keywords

PeruAndesQuilcapampaIncaWarihallucinogenalcoholpolitical strategy
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 96 , Issue 385 , February 2022 , pp. 142 - 158
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd.

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